


Fire

by Aiden_Ravelle, AnkhsAngel



Category: Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25599337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiden_Ravelle/pseuds/Aiden_Ravelle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnkhsAngel/pseuds/AnkhsAngel
Relationships: Houjou Emu/Kagami Hiiro
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Co-written by Amy L./AnkhsAngel

Emu woke with a yawn and looked over. Hiiro was still asleep beside him. He looked the other way and noticed Parad still on the other bed. They had rented a cabin for the weekend and hoped to do a bit of hiking that day. Emu pulled out his phone and played a game as he waited for the other two to wake.

“Emu? What time is it?” Parad whispered as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Eight.” The doctor answered. 

Hiiro grumbled slightly, “It’s the weekend, we’re sleeping in.”

Emu chuckled and kissed Hiiro’s head, “Go back to sleep if you want.”

Parad grinned at the affection before stretching. “Gonna go outside.”

Emu nodded, “I’ll start on breakfast.”

Parad vanished.

Emu got up and started up the fire. After a while, he finished cooking and woke Hiiro with a kiss, “Time for breakfast.”

He then headed out to find Parad.

The bugster was sitting on the porch, his eyes closed as he listened to the sounds around him.

“Hey, food is ready. Do you want to come in or keep relaxing?”

“Thank you for bringing me. I know Brave probably isn’t happy.”

“He knows we’re a packaged set. He’s not upset that you came with, in fact, he suggested it first.”

Parad turned to stare. “You’re serious?”

Emu nodded, “Yeah. He figured you hadn’t camped before and said everyone needs to at least once.”

Parad shrugged and dropped his eyes. “Was pretty sure he hated me and wanted to operate.”

Emu crouched beside him, “Hiiro doesn’t hate you. You know how he is though, he comes off like that until you get to know him well enough. Maybe you two just don’t know each other enough yet for him to be that open?”

“I’m a  _ bugster _ . A menace.” Parad’s voice was soft. “I don’t expect friendship. Or trust.”

“Oh shut up,” they heard from behind them. “Just because you’re a bugster doesn’t mean you’re a menace.” 

Emu smiled softly as he looked up at Hiiro. 

Parad looked up sharply. “You really don’t think so?”

“You might have had a rough past, but you’re good now. And if Emu trusts you, so do I.”

The bugster’s eyes glistened and he ducked his head. “Arigato.”

“Now come on, before the food gets cold.”

Parad chuckled and followed them inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Parad opened his eyes in the darkness. They narrowed as he tried to figure out what had woken him. He could hear both Emu and Brave’s soft breathing nearby, so it wasn’t anything wrong there.

A moment later, he heard the front door of the cabin being pushed open. He opened the bond hurriedly.  _ “Emu wake up! Somebody is breaking in!” _

Emu shot up quickly, shaking Hiiro’s arm. He tried to stand but got caught in the blanket and tumbled to the floor. 

Parad tried to fight, but one of the figures backhanded him and he hit the wall, falling stunned to the floor. His hands were wrenched behind his back and bound, then he was kicked hard in the sternum. He struggled for breath in vain, finally passing out.

Emu was pulled up by the hair, struggling to fight but was punched in the face. 

Hiiro yelled his name before he was ripped from the bed and bound. Hiiro and Emu continued to keep trying to fight until they were knocked out.

Emu woke slowly, coughing as he inhaled smoke. His eyes shot open, “Parad! Hiiro?!”

_ “Emu..I’m scared!” _ Parad’s voice was panicked.

_ “I’ll get us out of here...”  _ Emu coughed again, attempting to push himself up. He fell quickly and tried to crawl. “Hiiro?”

The surgeon groaned as he came back to consciousness. 

Fire crackled on the other side of the cabin and was slowly approaching. Emu’s mind flashed back to the past, another fire that haunted him. He didn’t have a ton of memories about it, but what he did remember scared him senseless. He tried to figure out why he didn’t remember much, but shook his head, this wasn’t the time.

“Emu?” Hiiro began fighting against his bonds.

Parad was the closest to the flames and he started to scream. The bond pulsed with terror, the bugster in a full blown panic attack. His eyes were wide and unfocused, the little breaths he took between screams shaky.

The panic poured into Emu, his breathing speeding, making him inhale more smoke. 

Hiiro finally got his hands free and quickly undid the ties on his legs. He went and grabbed Emu and Parad, pulling them out of the cabin. 

Emu shook as he coughed hard.

Parad struggled to get free, his eyes locked on the flames. “EMU!!!!!” He bit Hiiro’s hand and ran for the door. 

Hiiro quickly caught him, “Emu’s out here! Calm down.” He turned the bugster so he was facing the pediatrician.

Parad started coughing, tears streaming down his face. “I’m going to kill him, Emu. I swear it. I’ll kill him so you can move on…” He stared unseeing at his host, collapsing on his knees.

Emu was still shaking, his own face covered in tears, “Parad..? Why do I feel so scared..?” 

Hiiro knelt beside him, trying to check him over.

Parad’s coughs stopped as he toppled forward unconscious.

Hiiro gently lifted Parad and took him to the car before coming back for Emu, who was staring at the fire blankly. He carried him to the car before taking them to the hospital to get checked over. 

Kiriya climbed the staircase, sitting down beside Hiiro with a sigh. “You alright?”

“I’m fine. Emu and Parad inhaled a lot of smoke and Emu won’t stop staring blankly at the wall. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

“Parad kept muttering death threats even while unconscious. Guessing a shared memory glitched them.” The examiner rubbed his face tiredly. “There’s still so much we don’t know about them.”

Hiiro nodded, “We also don’t know who attacked us today.”

“True.” Kiriya scowled as a heart rate alarm began wailing. “Which one do you think it is?”

Hiiro shook his head and stood, heading into the room to check on them.

After checking the alarm and administering medicine, he sat down beside Emu. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Emu answered, looking up.

“How are you feeling?”

“Lungs still hurt, but a little better.”

“You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

“Of course,” Emu answered.

  
“He should be alright, he just needs more rest and medicine,” Hiiro said softly.

“I don’t know why the fire scared me so much...”

“I don’t know either, but you know I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

Emu nodded and reached for Hiiro.

The surgeon wrapped his arms around Emu and held him tightly, “Everything will be alright.”

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!” Parad’s eyes flew open, hazy and glitching.

“Parad?” Emu pushed himself up and went to his bugster’s side. “Hey, it’s okay..”

“You’re..alive?”

“Yeah.. I’m really confused though.. It’s like I have partial memories, but they aren’t all there.. Will you tell me what happened that made us so afraid of fire?”

Parad went pale. “You don’t want to know.”

“Please?”

“Kiyonaga.” Parad looked sick. “He tried to kill us.” He shook his head. “Let me rephrase that. He tried to kill  _ me _ .”

Emu nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “He didn’t like either of us much, did he?” 

“Understatement of the millennium, Emu.” Parad coughed softly. “What do you remember?”

“I just remember there was fire everywhere..”

“He came home unexpectedly, found us playing games. He started hitting you. I took possession and hit him back a few times. He went nuts. He hit us hard enough that we blacked out. When I woke, he was pouring gas on the floor and we were tied to the bed…”

Emu sat there quietly, unable to talk. 

Hiiro, who was still in the room, was clenching and unclenching his fists at the thought of someone hurting them but he stayed silent.

“I managed to get us out, barely. But I was unable to physically appear for a week. Cops asked questions, but because you didn’t remember, they left. Kiyonaga played the doting dad until everyone forgot. Then everything got worse until he disappeared.”

Emu nodded, memories of his father haunting his mind. 

“Before you ask, Brave, we were ten.” Parad looked over at the surgeon.

“How did you handle living there?”

Parad shrugged, then coughed again. “Didn’t know anything else. He disappeared around the time we became M. It was easier after that, until we were ripped apart.”

Hiiro sighed and looked at Emu who was staring blankly at the ground.

“Sorry.” Parad sat up, hanging his head. A second later he tore the IV out and teleported away.

Emu looked up and let out a small sob.  _ “Parad..?” _

_ “I’m sorry for bringing him up..I shouldn’t be there..” _

_ “Parad.. I asked you to tell me. And you had to deal with him as much as I did. We should be together to deal with it..” _

_ “I’m the cause of the fire..if I hadn’t fought back..” _

_ “Stop that! You were trying to help me. That’s what matters.” _

_ “I made everything worse!” _ The bond closed.

Emu began crying and though Hiiro tried to calm him, he didn’t seem to be able to. Hiiro sighed and headed out to find Parad.

Parad swung his feet in the dirt absently, his fingers tight around the chains of the swing. ‘Emu would be better off without me..’ he thought sadly.

“Parad?” Hiiro approached slowly. 

He looked up in surprise. “Brave?”

“Emu won’t stop crying.. I’ve done everything I could think of but I think he wants you.”

Parad rapidly shook his head. “I’m no good for him. He should be free of me.”

“Do you ever think maybe you’ve helped him? You think you made things worse by fighting back, but did you ever consider how much you helped? He was lonely with an abusive parent when you came along. You brought light to his dark life.. At least, that’s how I think he sees it.”

“Maybe..But then I tried to kill him multiple times.” Parad squeezed his hands, feeling the chains bite into them. “I’m  _ poison _ , Brave. I should have stayed gone, then Emu could have a normal life with you.”

“He doesn’t want normal. He wants  _ you. _ ” Hiiro sighed and sat on a swing. “You mean more to him than anyone else. He might love me, but I’ll never mean as much to him as you do. I just wish you’d see that.”

Parad stared at the ground, then began to cough. He grabbed his chest, the feeling of suffocating overtaking him. His vision began to grey and he faintly felt himself falling.

Hiiro quickly took the bugster back to the hospital and hooked him up to oxygen to help his breathing. 

Emu didn’t leave Parad’s side, even when Hiiro had to reattach him to oxygen due to his own coughing.

Parad lay quiet, his wheezing becoming normal breathing after awhile.

Emu watched him quietly, praying he’d be alright.

Parad slowly woke, looking around the room. He took off the mask with an annoyed look.

“Parad! You’re awake.. Are you alright?”

“Think so. What about you? What happened?”

“I’m better now that you’re awake.”

Parad sighed and stared up at the ceiling. He felt peaceful with Emu beside him and the bugster resolved to just enjoy the company, pushing his doubts away for another day.


End file.
